Awning structure



B. A. DE BORD 2,201,887 AWNING STRUCTURE Filed July 22, 1939 v 2 Sheets-5heet 1 fig. .Z

ATTORNEYS y 1, 1940. B. A. DE BORD 2,201,887

AWNING STRUCTURE Filed July 22, 1959 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR 4 EerZA 36 30rd 2%; ylflgf ATTORNEYS Patented May 21, 1940 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE AWNING STRUCTURE Bert A. DeBord, Temple, Tex. Application July. 22, 1939, Serial No. 286,026

3 Claims.

The invention relates to certain "new and useful improvements in awnings and primarily seeks to provide a simple and inexpensive awning structure readily mountable on a window or door frame by mere insertion of mounting lug portions thereof into receiving screw eyes attached to said frame.

An object of the invention is to provide an awning embodying a frame structure bent to shape from metal rods and which includes mounting lugs formed by rod end portions which are receivable in mounting screw eyes and are so positioned that they are placed under tension during the mounting of the awning so as to be automatically held by retaining friction in said screw eyes.

Another object of the invention is to provide an awning frame structure in which the mount ing lugs for supporting the main body of the awning are disposed within the lateral confines of the awning so as to be completely hidden exteriorly by the awning covering.

With these and other objects in view which Will more fully appear, the nature of the invention will be more clearly understood by following the description, the appended claims, and the several views illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a perspective view illustrating the invention, the awning covering being shown in dotted line phantom.

Figure 2 is a side elevation and part vertical cross section illustrating the frame structure shown in Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a fragmentary horizontal section taken on the line 33 on Figure 1.

Figure 4 is a detail vertical cross section taken on the line 4-4 on Figure 1.

Figure 5 is a face view illustrating a modified form of awning frame structure, the body and spreader portions of the frame being disposed in the single plane position in which the frame is mounted.

Figure 6 is a view similar to Figure 2 illustrating the modified frame structure of Figure 5.

The improved awning structure disclosed in Figures 1 to 4 comprises a frame composed of a body A, and a spreader B, said body being covered in the conventional manner by a suitable covering 0.

The frame body A may comprise a single rod length bent to form a lower longitudinal member 5, and loops defined by lateral or end members 6, and an upper longitudinal or mounting member 1 composed of the two ends l of the rod disposed in parallel relation and held together by clips 8. The extreme end portion of each rod end l is bent inwardly toward the longitudinal member 5 to form a mounting lug 9, and it will be observed that each mounting lug is spaced inwardly from the adjacent end member 6.

The spreader B is formed of a single rod, in U-shape, to present a longitudinal body portion 10 I0 disposed in parallel relation to the body member 5 and pivotally secured thereto by clips II, and side members I 2 aligned with the end members 6 of the .body A. The side members l2 terminate in outwardly bent mounting lugs I3. 15

The cover C is conventional in form and is secured to the upper mounting member 1, the end members 6, and the parallel longitudinal members 5 and Ill in any approved manner.

Two mounting screw eyes I 4 are attached to 20 the upper rail l 5 of a window or door frame with their openings directed vertically, and two additional mounting screw eyes It are attached one i to each side rail ll of the frame with their openings aligned in the horizontal direction for 25 receiving the mounting lugs l3 in the manner shown in Figure 1.

In Figures 5 and 6 of the drawings, there is illustrated a modified form of the awning frame structure in which the spreader E is formed 30 of a single rod to provide a longitudinal body member l8 and side or end members i9 each terminating in a mounting lug 20. The body F, in this form of the invention, is formed of two rods. One of the rods is generally U-shaped and 5 presents a longitudinal body member 2| disposed parallel the spreader body l8 and pivotally secured thereto by clips 22, and side or end pieces 23. The ends of this rod are bent inwardly a short distance toward each other, as at 40 24, and are turned downwardly at their extremities to provide short mounting lugs 25. The second rod 26 extends across the body in parallel opposition to the inwardly bent portions 24 and serves to close the spaceintervening these por- 5 tions. The rod 26 is clip-secured to the inwardly turned rod portions 24 as indicated at 21.

The end or side members l2 or IQ of both Spreaders preferably are normally displaced out of longitudinal alignment with the end or side 50 members 6 or 23 of the frame bodies, as indicated in dotted lines in Figure 3, so that when they are bent into alignment with said end or side members during mounting of the frame, they will be placed under tension. 55

In the mounting of the awnings, the respective awning frame structure is laid flat against the window or door frame, and the downwardly turned mounting lugs 9 or 25 are dropped into the openings of the mounting screw eyes l4.

Thereafter, the longitudinal frame members 5 and ID, or [8 and 2|, are swung outwardly to the inclined position to be assumed by the awning. The mounting lugs, retained in the screw eyes l4, cannot partake of this outward swinging movement and consequently they are placed under tension during the outward swinging of the frame parts. This manner of mounting causes the mounting lugs to frictionally bind in the mounting screw eyes I 4 and form a secure but removable mounting for the awning.

After the frame parts have been swung outwardly in the manner above described, the side or end members l2 or IE3 are bent into substantial alignment with the end or side members 6 or 23, and the mounting lugs l3 or 20 carried thereby are sprung outwardly or inwardly as the case may be into the openings in the mounting screw eyes l6. With the side or end members placed under tension as above described, these mounting lugs will be yieldably held in the mounting eyes against unintentional displacement.

It is of course to be understood that the details of structure and arrangement of parts may be variously changed and modified without departing from the spirit and scope of my invention.

I claim:

1. A frame structure for an awning comprising a frame member consisting of a lower longitudinal element, end elements extending upwardly from the terminals thereof and upper longitudinal elements extending inwardly from the upper terminals of the end elements, said upper longitudinal elements having lugs disposed approximately parallel to the end elements and adapted to be anchored in substantially the same plane as the end elements and in inwardly spaced relation from the latter so that said lugs will avoid contact with the awning fabric at or close to the end elements to prevent undue wear on the fabric and to prevent inward movement of the end elements, and a spreader attached to and extending inwardly from said lower longitudinal element to position the frame member in inclined position so that the frame member as a whole will be under tension through torque applied to said lugs.

2. A frame structure for an awning comprising a frame member consisting of a lower longitudinal element, end elements extending upwardly from the terminals thereof and upper longitudinal elements extending inwardly from the upper terminals of the end elements and overlapping each other, said overlapping longitudinal elements having lugs disposed approximately parallel to the end elements and adapted to be anchored in substantially the same plane as the end elements and in inwardly spaced relation from the latter so that said lugs will avoid contact with the awning fabric at or close to the end elements to prevent undue wear on the fabric and to prevent inward movement of the end elements, and a spreader attached to and extending inwardly from said lower longitudinal element to position the frame member in inclined position so that the frame member as a whole will be under tension through torque applied to said lugs.

3. A frame structure for an awning comprising a frame member consisting of a lower longitudinal element, end elements extending upwardly from the terminals thereof and upper longitudinal elements extending inwardly from the upper terminals of the end elements, said upper longitudinal elements having lugs disposed approximately parallelto the end elements and adapted to be anchored in substantially the same plane as the end elements and in inwardly spaced relation from the latter so that said lugs will avoid contact with the awning fabric at or close to the end elements to prevent undue wear on the fabric and to prevent inward movement of the end elements, a rod bridging said upper longitudinal elements, a clip disposed between each end element and adjacent lug securing the rod and upper longitudinal elements together, and a spreader attached to and extending inwardly from said lower longitudinal element to position the frame member in inclined position so that the frame member as a whole will be under tension through torque applied to said lugs.

BERT A. DE BORD. 

